Can we get a zwave switch with a built in humidity sensor? This would be nice for bathroom fan ventilation to automatically turn on and off a fan to exhaust moisture after a shower.
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IMHO, the issue with such a thing is that the physical position of a wall switch is (typically) not good for effectively tracking shower humidity – the humidity sensor needs to either be higher up or at least much closer to the action.
Agreed. I had some dumb switches with humidity sensors in my bathrooms at my previous house and they never worked right due to placement.
IMO, you are better off with a smart fan switch + a remote humidity/motion sensor placed directly above the shower or in/near the fan on the ceiling. Another alternative is a fan that has a built-in humidity sensor. Phillips has some nice fans with this integrated that work well.
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I would rather not replace an existing fan/exhaust system with a “smart” one if I don’t have to, that is the point of these, so that you can add smart features to an existing device that isn’t smart. Once you go replacing the actual exhaust device, you’re looking at electrical work, resizing the ceiling cutout, mounting, etc. The idea was that we could get something for a small bathroom that is hard wired directly where there is existing power, and not rely on batteries to keep it functional.
All totally understandable, but I think you’d be pretty disappointed with the actual performance.
If you have an existing switch for the fan and want to experiment, pop in and try out a dumb version like this.
Not to mention the market for this would be TINY. While a normal home will have 20-30 switches, maybe 2-3 of them will be for a bathroom. Then factor in that many countries require bathroom switches to be installed outside the bathroom itself. I know in Canada that is a requirement. Now consider that a standalone humidity sensor that can be put in a much more optimal position is like $10-15, I just can’t see there being enough interest to warrant spending the time and more importantly the money to build a switch like this. This is simply my opinion.
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It was just an option… one that requires more work, but also works a LOT better than the typical bathroom fan.
The other option I mentioned is probably best for your usage. A smart on/off switch to control the fan combined with a remote humidity sensor. This will work 90% as well as a new smart fan, but doesn’t require the extra work you mentioned and it will work 1000 times better than a switch with an integrated humidity sensor.
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This is not a requirement in Canada. I just built with switches in the bathroom.
It definitely used to be code here. But a quick google does say that it must be further than 1m from water. So it does look like it can be put in there now. But there’s still millions of homes with it outside. So the market is still tiny, just not quite as tiny as I initially thought 